More than 20 years ago, gaming involved sending Mario on a mission to rescue Princess Peach or juggling colour blocks in “Tetris” on Nintendo’s Gameboy.

In 1994, Sony released its first generation of PlayStation which transformed the gaming experience and began targeting older audience.

Then Microsoft and Nintendo joined in the power battle by creating the Xbox and Wii respectively, both of which continue to introduce exciting features into the gaming world and attract new audience. But video games remain to be consumed mainly through a CD-based home console.

That is until the birth of iPhone and iPad. Their unparalleled popularity has turned mobile devices into new platforms for video games or game apps. They can be digitally downloaded and played by anyone at anytime and anywhere.

Despite the evolution of video games, people still seem to perceive gamers as those who play them on computers or consoles. Technological inventions have opened up the gaming world to a whole new audience, shown by the vast range of game apps available across different operating systems.

Young kids play “Angry Birds” on their way to school. Teenage boys compare conquests and share tricks and tips with each other. Housewives enjoy passing time with “Bejeweled” between running errands. More importantly, there is a new wave of female gamers who make up 45% of all gamers and 46% of the most frequent game purchasers, according to a recent report published by the Entertainment Software Association in the US.

It is widely believed that women are the main audience of casual games like “Diner Dash”. But they are also drawn to games that allow them to make complex decisions and customise their characters. Family-friendly games are also popular among female gamers as they spend a considerable amount of time playing with their children or partners. Dojit’s very own “Home Bear” and “Totally Milkshake” are good examples of games that would appeal to mothers and young girls. The presence of a female protagonist is another attractive feature to this new demographic.

Modern gamers are no longer just the boys in the Big Bang Theory, but also their loving mothers or their sweet and sassy neighbour Penny. Definitely a rising trend not to be missed by game developers!